Ask the Editor: Mercedes-Benz E-Class and E63 AMG

I know it's been a few weeks since the E-Class and E63 First Drives went up, but I've been out of the office a lot lately and things have been busy with the Geneva show. So, since it's all calmed down now, here's your ATE on the new Benzes.

I really want this car! It has taken the place of the Jag XJ as my dream sedan. I never liked the styling of the W212, so this refresh signals good things IMO for the next E.

My question is how was the shifting logic?

My E55 (I know it's a completely different transmission) is great in comfort mode when just putting around, and great in sport mode when driving aggressively, but when driving in the middle, it seems to get a little confused and sometimes holds gears too long, or doesn't downshift quick enough (part of that is the car tries to engage the blower and give you max boost before downshifting).

C&D's review of the CLA (again, completely different transmission) actually described the exact same thing as me.

Did you notice this in the new E63?
=========================2004 E55 - Silver

ZincYellowBlownSVT:I really want this car! It has taken the place of the Jag XJ as my dream sedan. I never liked the styling of the W212, so this refresh signals good things IMO for the next E.

My question is how was the shifting logic?

My E55 (I know it's a completely different transmission) is great in comfort mode when just putting around, and great in sport mode when driving aggressively, but when driving in the middle, it seems to get a little confused and sometimes holds gears too long, or doesn't downshift quick enough (part of that is the car tries to engage the blower and give you max boost before downshifting).

C&D's review of the CLA (again, completely different transmission) actually described the exact same thing as me.

Did you notice this in the new E63?

Some things never change. The new E63 behaves the same way your E55 does. It's great most of the time, but when you drop it in Sport and hit the canyons, it's always a step behind. I don't know if it has anything to do with maintaining boost, but it's frustrating. It almost never downshifts under braking, so you enter a turn still in a higher gear and you have to get deep into the pedal as you exit the corner to get a downshift. Holding gears too long was less of a problem, but it did happen once or twice. The good news is that the paddle shifters work great and the transmission responds very quickly. You're better off just using those if you really want to go hard. Sport mode alone is mostly good for extra throttle response.
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How does it comapre to the BMW M5 and the other competitors?
___________________The C63 kicks you in the gut with torque and power-slides. Either you will love it or get the hell out of its way.---------------------------2015 VW VW GTI Autobahn2012 VW Passat 3.62011 VW GTI2005 Mercedes C3202006 VW Passat 2.0T2004 VW Golf GL

EuropeanCars:How does it comapre to the BMW M5 and the other competitors?

I like it better than the M5. The new 5 Series line is huge and it feels like it behind the wheel. The E63 feels more responsive to me. It's not an enormous difference, but given the choice, I'd go with the Benz.
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NineInchNails:Based on "seat-of-the-pants" feel, who wins in the 1/4 mile?

Panamera Turbo S (11.5 sec @ 122mph - C&D test)or E63 S-Model?

"Seat-of-the-pants" won't tell you which car is quicker by something as small as a tenth of a second. They'll be very close, I can tell you that much. The Panamera has a fantastic Launch Control system, so it'll be tough for the E63 to beat.
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Luas:How do you feel about it being AWD only? Is it as much of a hooligan as the previous RWD model?

It really doesn't bother me. AMG needed to move forward to survive, and locking it at 67% RWD is an acceptable compromise between embracing modern technology and expectations and maintaining brand heritage and identity. AMG is built to sell far too many cars per year to stand on principle and refuse to adapt to changing customer tastes. No one wants to be the next Lotus, clinging to a shrinking body of hardcore fans while the debts pile up and the casual customers disappear.

To the second half of the question, no. The emphasis now is more on handling and usability than overwhelming power. It's clearly RWD biased, but it actually sticks to the road now rather than just lighting up the tires. On a perfectly flat tarmac where there's nothing to hit, I'm told it can drift with the best of them. On real-world roads, the most I ever got out of it was a mild understeer at entry or mild oversteer at exit if I tried to carry way too much speed into a corner or mash the throttle coming off it. Driving like someone who doesn't know what they're doing, basically. This car is designed to stick, and it does it well.
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